It feels so timely that I’ve only just seen actor Mackenyu Arata’s most recent performance in the fourth installment of the Rurouni Kenshin saga. If you ask me, considering he’s the one cast for the lead role in what looks to be a bolstering international debut with Tomasz Baginski’s Saint Seiya treatment, Knights Of The Zodiac, I’d say Baginski is in good hands.
The new movie is produced Toei and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions, and just wrapped filming in Croatia and Hungary with Arata joined by Madison Iseman, Famke Janssen, Sean Bean, Diego Tinoco, along with Nick Stahl and action star Mark Dacascos. Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken (10 Cloverfield Lane) penned the most recent drafts, according to THR‘s Borys Kit.
The manga and anime, created by Masami Kurumada and first introduced in 1986, told of warriors known as The Saints who gather their powers from the constellations. They are gathered to defend the reincarnated goddess Athena from other gods who intend to take over the Earth.
In what is labeled an origin story, Mackenyu is starring as Seiya, a street orphan and the title hero of the franchise. When a mystical energy known as Cosmo awakens in him, Seiya embarks on a journey to conquer the ancient Greek armor of Pegasus and choose his side in a preternatural battle for the fate of Sienna (Iseman), a young girl who struggles to control her godly powers.
The project remained in development for years and was finally announced in 2018. Andy Cheng, most recently credited for his work on hit superhero epic, Marvel’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings among his numerous credits, serves as main stunt and fight coordinator.
Toei will release the film in Japan with SPWA handling international.
Among his other credits, Arata, son of late actor Sonny Chiba, can also be seen starring in Katsuyuki Motohiro’s Brave: Gunjo Senki, Eiichiro Hasumi’s Over Drive, and Takashi Miike’s adaptation of JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable.